Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

Star Struck

Autumn and I love going to concerts. Specifically we love Christian concerts. At Winter Jam (a tour that is inexpensive and you get to see ten bands including to headliners) I was able to see one of my most beloved bands—Skillet. In 2021, decked out in my Skillet and John Cooper swag we got their early because it is first come for seating. We scored and were ten feet from the stage. it wasn’t long until the lights went out the pyrotechnics started and we were rocking! About half way through the concert we were having a blast and it was about to get better! John Cooper came to end of the stage and pointed for me to come closer and reached out and brought me in for the hand shake! I was 10 yrs old again! It was a great time to meet a star and someone so convicted and passionate for the story of the Gospel. John Cooper and Skillet have began to take a incredible risk in calling our the Christian Music industry and the church for a pop culture faith and to come back to the true Gospel and live under the authority of the Bible.

Could this what it had been like for that scene in 1 Kgs with the Israelites and Elijah?

This Is The Slam

Elijah: His name means “my God is Yahweh [the Lord]” (eli = “my God”; yah = “Yah[weh]”), which is fitting since most of his efforts are aimed at proving that the Lord, Yahweh, is superior to the local storm deity, Baal. Elijah’s miracles and interactions are all geared toward presenting a proper vision of who God is, with great power over nature, but also with a nurturing and just eye for the disadvantaged. His popularity as a figure continues well into the New Testament and beyond.

Idolatry, is a practice God spoke and warned the people Israel about. it is number two in the top Ten List.

Neo Assyrian, neo-Babylonian ritual of mis pi (“opening of the mouth”) dates between the 8th and 5th century B.C.E. was a ritual that spanned two days and if the god whose image had been made was to be able to eat, drink, smell incense, and perform other duties. Those who made the image were aware it had been made by human artisans, had there hands symbolically “cut-off” or removed while they denied their own involvement in its creation. The result is the work of human hands becomes “divine” born of heaven.

What then is idolatry? NIB Dictionary says “the worship of idols or images ‘made with human hands; more generally, the paying or offering of divine honours to any created object”

Idolatry is placing upon a created object that which belongs to Yahweh-Elohim.

Idolatry is the projected authority of power and presence in real time and space among a gathered body in which the body is seeking a greater involvement of cosmic proportion.

The created become creators of ultimate power and authority.

This is upside-down and wrong.

The created can’t create cosmic power and authority because we were never holders of that place and power.

Something that points to God is not the same as worshipping the thing as the presence or embodiment of God.

It is has been 3 yrs since the prophet Elijah by a word shut up the heavens and a severe drought has been in Israel.

In this King Ahab must have looked for Elijah who hid east of Jerusalem in the Cheredith Wadi. The words of Obadiah “the Spirit will just take you” provides an inference that through the divine activity of Yahweh, this happened several times.

Elijah promises to reveal himself to Ahab.

During this time Jezebel the queen has been targeting the prophets of Yahweh and killing them.

However Obadiah has been kept in good standing of the king and he has hid 100 prophets in caves and cared for them.

Ahab’s greeting of Elijah is one of conflict “you troubler of Israel” Elijah is accused of his very presence being harmful to Israel.

What does this tell us?

Israel’s leaders have completely apostate. They punish the prophets of God because of God’s judgment through the drought.

Idolatry has been embraced.

450 prophets of Baal (Storm God)

400 Prophets of Asherah (Goddess of fertility)

The Church today has the same fight. In the culture war the church continues to lose ground and compromise on what was once untouchable.

John Wesley “What one generation tolerates, the next will embrace.”

The greatest threat to the church comes from within it. Christians giving their lives over to idols and giving the honor and worship and sacrifice to the things of this world; worshipping the god of career, wealth, entertainment, greed, materialism, laziness, and seek a luke warm faith. More and more Christians show up Sunday but tear down the altar of God Monday to Saturday. We are guilty of idol worship in our own lives and it deprives us of the power and authority of God in this world. The judgment is on Israel and their society plunged into horrible practices that would derail them and force God to exile them from the very gift they received.

Revelation 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Elijah gathers Israel and the prophets 1 Kgs 18:20 reaches back to Joshua’s speech to the Israelites before crossing into the Promised Land. Josh 24:14-15

Elijah testifies that the people are trying to straddle the fence or have a foot on each bank of the stream so to speak. The literal translation of the Hebrew is “hobbling between two branches, or a bird hobbling from branch to branch’

Elijah taunts the false prophets and points to their limited and distracted gods that can’t even help them.

Elijah is the sole prophet representing Yahweh against the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah.

Elijah begins with repairing the altar of The LORD and sets up 12 stones in a circle around it. Though this altar is outside of Jerusalem it is a powerful testimony to the role of the prophet and the message of restoration of the covenant relationship with Yahweh.

The Altar has been torn down by the people. The altar serves as the place of confession and sacrifice.

The people wanted a religion of activity and avoided a religion of relationship.

They wanted God and their sin. They removed the atonement and worship from their faith.

“Religion without relationship.”- Tony Evans

Empty and powerless. James 2:26

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.” -John Wesley

Elijah also, symbolically succeeds Moses in the role of prophet and mediator to Yahweh.

Elijah works to flounder his own success through adding an extravagant amount of water to his sacrifice.

While the theatrics are powerful in themselves Elijah’s prayer is the will for God to make himself known and display his power and authority and the Elijah, like Moses is here as the servant of Yahweh-Elohim.

James 5:16 NRSV

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

Yahweh answers and fire reigns down from heaven consuming Elijah’s sacrifice and the Baal's sacrifice.

Elijah’s prayer and invitation for God to respond proves God’s presence, power, and authority in Israel and his lordship over all other gods.

Prayer is a powerful thing. The prayer of Elijah undoes all the combined prayers of 850 prophets. They prayed to something that did not exist, Elijah walked with God.

Committed against all odds

b. Relationship with God

i. Repentance, Sacrifice, and Atonement

ii. The priority of a spiritual vertical relationship.

iii. Call on God and God will show up. Obedience begets our witness.

11. God wants us to be fully committed to him. God isn’t interested in a competition. What do we look to to have the authority and power to provide in our lives.

Commitment, conviction, passion, and authority.

What does Elijah show us? That in the face of rejection and impossible odds continue to strive and depend on God. We focus on who God calls us to be and what God calls us to do.

We don’t have a religion without a relationship. Jesus stepped out of heaven into this world and lived among us. Christ shared with us, celebrated with us, grieved with us, suffered for us, and died our death so that we can live faithful vibrant lives that bring transformation.

It is a relationship that moves us to commitment. A trust that gives us conviction. A vision that gives us passion. A knowledge that gives us authority.

We are called to be the Elijah’s of this world. It is our opportunity. Let’s not get star struck by worldly gods. Let’s declare there is only One God and He is the One true authority of the universe. Let us lead lives committed fully to His will for us. Let us live a religion of relationship. The vertical orienting our hearts toward greater things.